Sundaymail Editor
Britain’s retail industry warned the government on Friday that unless it moves to alleviate an acute shortage of truckers in the next 10 days then significant disruption was inevitable in the run-up to Christmas.
As the world’s fifth-largest economy emerges from Covid-19 lockdowns, a spike in European natural gas prices and a post-Brexit shortage of truck drivers have left Britain grappling with soaring energy prices and a potential food supply crunch.
BP temporarily closed some of its 1 200 UK petrol stations due to a lack of both unleaded and diesel grades, which it blamed on driver shortages.
ExxonMobil’s Esso said a small number of its 200 Tesco Alliance retail sites had also been impacted.
Queues formed at some gas stations in London and the southern English county of Kent on Friday as motorists rushed to fill up, Reuters reporters said.
Diesel ran out at one station visited by Reuters.
For months, supermarkets, processors and farmers have warned that a shortage of heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers was straining supply chains to breaking point, making it harder to get goods on to shelves. — Reuters.
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